The use of dietary supplements is well known. For example, coenzyme Q-10 is a vitamin-like substance used around the world to treat congestive heart failure and other cardiac problems. In many countries, St. John's wort is widely recognized as useful for relieving depression as effectively as many antidepressant pharmaceuticals, but without unpleasant side effects. The list of such supplements is virtually endless.
One of the difficulties encountered in formulated such supplements for human ingestion is that many of the supplements are relatively water insoluble. Since the human digestive tract is a substantially aqueous system, it is difficult to provide these supplements in forms that will dissolve readily in the digestive tract and be available for use, i.e. bioavailable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,915 issued to Crooks on Feb. 25, 1986 discloses aqueous formulations for fat soluble vitamins, essential nutrients, herb oils, and pharmaceutical agents. The formulations are prepared by first admixing the fat soluble vitamin, essential nutrient, or agent with a suitable amount of polyethoxylated castor oil and a pharmaceutically acceptable polyol, such as glycerol, to provide a non-aqueous phase. Thereafter, an aqueous phase containing mostly water and optionally a preservative, such as sodium benzoate, is slowly added to the agitated non-aqueous phase at an elevated temperature. The admixture is cooled and provided as a clear, homogeneous, micellized aqueous formulation.
It is often desirable to provide relatively water insoluble dietary supplements in a gelatin capsule form. Gelatin capsules, which can be hard or soft, are considered to be tasteless and easy to swallow. Furthermore, they dissolve readily in the digestive tract. Such capsules are filled with compositions that are provided to the digestive tract upon dissolution of the capsule.
One difficulty of using gelatin capsules arises because such capsules can not contain aqueous liquid compositions of the type disclosed in the Crooks patent. However, when non-aqueous compositions of relatively water insoluble dietary supplements are provided, the dietary supplement may not become bioavailable upon dissolution of the gelatin capsule.
It would, therefor, be desirable to provide a gelatin capsule containing a liquid composition of a relatively water insoluble dietary supplement that provides for enhanced bioavailability of the dietary supplement.
A goal of the invention is to provide a method for enhancing the dissolution properties of relatively water insoluble dietary supplements.
Another goal of the invention is to provide a dietary supplement product having improved dissolution properties.
A further goal of the invention is to provide a dietary supplement in the form of a gelatin capsule wherein the liquid dietary supplement contained therein has increased bioavailability.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.